


The Penumbra Project

by Drearee



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Gender Dysphoria, Gender Identity, Original Character-centric, Questionable Cloning Ethics, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:07:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24210331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drearee/pseuds/Drearee
Summary: Their life from conception was routine.Eat. Physical Therapy. Education. Eat again. Sleep. Repeat.Then the routine was broken, and they were allowed to live.---A failed clone of Shadow the Hedgehog discovers what it means to live, and what it means to be themself.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	The Penumbra Project

**Author's Note:**

> Heya guys how's staying inside like a smart person treating ya? If you follow my other *cough cough* "active" *cough* "work", you'd have noticed that I disappeared for a while. Well I was writing this. And I decided this was more important. This is an unbeta'd and unreviewed work that will cover some pretty intense topics that some people may take more personally than others. If you take issue with what I write because you feel i'm not properly portraying the experiences and struggle of being trans, please tell me and help me write it better. In that same vein if you take issue with what i'm writing because you're a transphobe go die a horrible painful death and pray that whatever god you believe in sends you to the "nicer" hell/hell-equivalent (they won't). In this house we respect trans people. We APRRECIATE trans people. And here's a story about one. Character tags will be updated as they're introduced to the story but for the most part it's gonna be like 80% OC.

Their life from conception was routine.

Eat. Physical Therapy. Education. Eat again. Sleep. Repeat.

Always the same.

Eat the same flavorless nutrition gruel. Undergo Physical Therapy to make up for the muscle they didn't get to naturally build from within the incubation tank. Listen to that robotic voice instruct them on basic language, math, history, and science. Eat more gruel. Sleep until tomorrow. Do it all again. It was the same, except when they failed at something.

Never dare request anything other than their gruel, or else they don't eat at all. Never complain about how hard therapy was or else they make them do more, harder, faster. Never fail to memorize everything the voice told them, or else they weren't allowed to leave and eat or sleep. Never complain about their stiff cot and thin sheets in their cold, tiny room or else they were made to sleep on the floor.

They were made to be a perfect clone of someone. They were never told who. Just that they were the first to not die from complications in the project. Hundreds never made it past embryoes. Less ever made it past further incubation. One couldn't breathe the incubation tank fluid. Another never developed muscle cells. A third of them had their hearts collapse.

So they had to be perfect. It was the only thing they could be. They didn't have a name, they were never given one. They were called "project", and "hey", and "you". They didn't have any possesions. They had a paper hospital gown that was replaced every week. This was their routine.

They were routine.

Then it was broken. The scientists said they were wrong. They didn't develop something. Something that the person they were a clone of had. But they did everything else perfectly! That didn't matter. Their routine was broken.

They were broken.

They were to be disposed of. The scientists wanted to destroy them and all evidence of them existing. But they weren't. Someone said that was "inhumane". So thats how they wound up where they are now.

"S-sir, I can't possibly care for-" a bird mobian studdered to the head scientist of G.U.N.

"You will be compensated for caring for Project Penumbra if that is what you're worried about." The human droned. "Because you are taking care of him. Is that clear?"

"Sir!" The bird protested, his feathers ruffling. The head scientist glared at him.

"Is. That. Clear?" 

"Y-yes sir..."

"Good. You're given the rest of today off to get the project settled. You'll have three paid days off to get him used to living normally. Make any mention of him being anything but an organic mobian and you're fired. Or worse." With that, the project was pushed towards the bird and the human man turned to briskly walk back into the labs from whence he came. The two stood there silently for a moment.

"So, um... Let's... Let's just get you home. Come on." He motioned for the project to follow him, turning to walk to the elevator. They followed him closely, studying him. They didn't know what kind of bird he was, but he was colorful. His face was a bright yellow, his body a delicate gradient from green to blue going down. Deep royal blue tail feathers dusted the sterilized G.U.N. facility floor as he walked. Compared to him, the project was rather plain, they thought. An elevator was approached and entered. They had never been in an elevator before. They gripped the handrail inside delicately as the two of them ascended. The silence was palpable. "You don't talk much, do you?" The bird fidgeted. They shook their head.

"I talk." They rasped, voice deep.

"Right. Uh... We should introduce ourselves properly, right? My name is Romeo. Do you have a name? Other than... Project Penumbra?" He asked them, extending a hand that was left there. They didn't understand why.

"I do not." They replied. The hand remained extended, until the bird pulled it pack awkwardly.

"O-kay! We should... Probably come up with a cover story? We still got twenty eight floors left, so we have the time." 'Romeo' chattered nervously.

"Cover story?" The project asked. "For what?"

"You don't know?!" He squawked.

"Know what?" They pressed. They were told to not be curious by the scientists... But the scientists weren't here now. They were almost giddy with excitement. But they were told to not show their emotions. That doing so was weak. They didn't want to be weak.

"Y-you're!" Romeo stammered, "...Completely serious, huh? I guess i'll just... Uh, here..." He rummaged through a manilla folder they hadn't noticed he was carrying. 'Top Secret"'and 'Classified' warnings littered the cover.

"The Shadow the Hedgehog Cloning Project; Project Penumbra." They read aloud. Romeo nodded.

"They didn't tell you any of this?" He asked, taking the folder back.

"No."

"Oh." He shuffled through the pages within, barely keeping them from spilling into the elevator. "So, um, basically... You're a clone of the 'Ultimate Lifeform', Shadow the Hedgehog, G.U.N. higher-ups wanted a safety net in case anything happened to him. He's the best agent we've got. Saved the world a few times. You know, kind of a really big deal?" The bird rambled. "So if someone who looks exactly like him is just wandering around, you can see how that spells trouble. Big, big trouble, especially if Shadow himself finds out."

"Doesn't Shadow know?" They asked. The bird chirped anxiously.

"They... Didn't exactly ask permission?" He winced. "H-hey, don't look at me like that! I didn't have any say in this, I was still an intern when they started!"

"Sorry."

"No, no, it's fine. We still need to figure out how to hide you from the public..." His rambling was interrupted by the elevator door opening to a dimly lit garage. "Oh, badnik bits. Out of time." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his beak. "If anyone asks, your name is Penumbra, and you just happen to look and sound exactly like international hero Shadow the Hedgehog, ok?"

"Ok." They agreed. They were led to a dark vehicle with tinted windows.

"This is a G.U.N. employee issue SDV. It'll take us back to my apartment, but after that we have to walk everywhere, alright?" The bird swiped a keycard hidden under the cuff of his glove before opening the door and gesturing inwards. They nodded at him, climbing in uneasily. They had never been in a car before, even if it was a self-driving one. Romeo situated himself next to them and buckled the seatbelt. They copied him. The car smoothly came to life, it didn't even feel like they were moving! They shielded their eyes as light flooded the vehicle even through the darkened windows. They restrained a gasp at the rapidly moving skyline of the city. 

Everything was so colorful. Everything was so alive! The sky, painted with fluffy white clouds, was the bluest they'd ever seen. They'd never seen the sky before but now they had not an inkling of an idea what they'd do without it. They quickly shut their mouth before the other mobian in the car could see they let it hang open. They stole a glance. Still fussing over the folder. Before long the SDV rolled to a stop in front of a decent-looking building.

"We're here! Heh." Romeo chirped. The duo stepped out of the vehicle, which made a U-turn to head back to the facility. "Come on, my apartment's on the top floor."

They walked, taking the stairs as there was no elevator. They reached a door with a silver nameplate on it that read 'Budgerigar; 304'

"Bud-geer-i-gar?" They wondered aloud. Romeo nodded

"That's me. Good job on pronouncing it right! Most people have trouble." He praised the experiment as he pulled a key out to unlock the door. They shifted in surprise. They had been praised for accomplishing what the scientists wanted them to, but that was robotic. Forced. They didn't know if they liked this yet. It made them uncomfortable, but... In a good way. They didn't think good uncomfortable was a thing. Romeo opened the door, leading them into the apartment. It was very modernly furnished, with minimalist furniture and lots of mirrors and framed photos of the bird. Said bird had placed his keys into a small cubic vase on a cubby and was removing his shoes to put away inside.

"So I uh, kinda wasn't expecting to be living with you, so uh... I don't have anything ready. You'll have to sleep on the couch, but i've been meaning to replace it anyways! I'm sure I can find a nice futon for you. Do you like firm or soft?" He chattered, looking up to the hedgehog expectantly.

"I'm... Not sure." They admitted.

"That's okay!" He reassured, "We'll just have to go test them out in person. Which reminds me..." He rushed off to another room, coming back with some simple white gloves and a pair of gray sneakers.

"What's this?" They asked, gingerly taking the items handed to them.

"You don't have any clothes. We'll have to get you some when we go out. You can wear some of my things until then. They might not fit you too well though, you're..." The bird looked them up and down. "A lot bigger than me."

"You are correct. You are very small." They concided, trying out this 'praising others for fun' thing. Romeo laughed.

"Go ahead and try the gloves on, you can leave the shoes in one of the empty cubby holes" He gestured towards the cubby lined against the wall. "Ah! I forgot to grab you some socks. Actually, I should make sure I have a spare toothbrush too... You should make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you."

"Be back in a sec!" The bird darted back to the other room, before skidding to check under the sink in what they assumed was the bathroom, reorganising a few drawers while he was in there. The hedgehog meandered through the living space, glancing into the connected kitchen area. It truly was a rather nice apartment, even someone as inexperienced as the project was could tell that. There were only four apartments for each level of the building, they noted, and the building was rather large. Not as large as the lab, but then again, they weren't allowed to explore much of the facility. They walked over to the couch they would be sleeping on. It was a cubic, white denim L-piece with smooth pillows and a colorful gingham blanket draped over the back. They sat, letting themself sink into the cushions.

This. Was. Amazing. They were only given their stiff cot before. No pillow, only one sheet that didn't even really cover all of their body too well. They've never felt anything like this before. They ran their hands up and down the pillows. So silky. And the blanket was so soft. They pulled the slightly-too-tight gloves on to feel their texture too. They didn't allow for much movement, but they protected their delicate hand-pads. Their foot-pads were more used to the pressure, but they assumed that getting shoes and socks would help them too.

They were almost excited.

"I'm back! I picked the red toothbrush because it matches your striiii-" Romeo stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the hedgehog. "Dude. You are like, the king of veg right now."

"Veg?" They asked, tilting their head to get a better look at the bird, who's hands were full of sone socks, the red toothbrush, a cellphone, and two bundles of cloth.

"It means you're super relaxed right now man." He said, placing all of the objects down on the glass coffee table before them. "So anyways, here's some socks, these are too big for me but my aunt gave them to me so i'm kinda glad I kept them now, again, toothbrush, i've also cleared you out a space in the bathroom, one of my old cellphones just in case, we can get it reactivated tomorrow, aaaand to hide the fact that you're a perfect clone of Shadow, drumroll please..." He unfurled the bundles of fabric to reveal a large gray hoodie and a blue knit cap. "Tadaaah! You can wear these whenever we go out and people shouldn't mistake you for him! At least, not at first. If they look closer they'll probably notice." He rambled. The project reached for the socks, trying to gage their texture from behind the thick cotton of their gloves. Romeo nodded at them encouragingly. They put the socks on, which fit rather well.

"Thank you." They told him. The bird only shrugged.

"It's nothin'. I mean this ain't even the stuff G.U.N.'s gonna pay for, ha ha!" His stomach growled loudly. "Oh, man, what time is it?" He pulled a newer cellphone out of the seemingly endless pocketspace within his gloves, checking the time. "Huh. Four already? What say you we get a late lunch-early dinner?" The bird asked rhetorically.

"I am unused to anything other than what I was given in the lab." They warned him, but he nodded in understanding as soon as the words left their mouth, tapping away at his phone.

"I gotcha, they left 'dietary reccomendations' in your file. I know this great vegan-spagonian place that totally matches what you need, and they do delivery! See anything here you wanna try?" He asked, handing them his phone, opened up to a menu of different foods. They didn't know what any of the foods were, but the images next to all of the descriptions looked promising.

"I'm not sure." They said, handing the phone back. Romeo nodded.

"I'll just get the party sampler then, we can keep the rest for later." He said, already standing to make the order call. "Yeah, hey, i'd like to place an order? Delivery." He spoke into the phone, walking off into another part of the apartment mindlessly. The project allowed themself to sit up, looking around the room once more. Their eyes met in the reflection of the flatscreen TV across from them, strawberry meeting dark-tinted strawberry. They turned their head, seeing themself again in a decorative mirror lazer-cut into the shape of three isoceles triangles, aligned to form a larger rectangle when one's mind filled the negative space left by the wall. They didn't know who this 'Shadow the Hedgehog' was, but they supposed if they ever met him they would. Someone out there who looked exactly like them. More technically, they were the someone who looked like Shadow.

They didn't like the thought too much. They raised their hand. Their reflection raised one back. They closed an eye, so did the reflection. They returned to normal, then the mirror was exactly the same.

"Food's coming in thirty minutes!" Romeo shouted suddenly from the other room. He walked in, glancing at them puzzlingly. "You know you can stop wearing that hospital gown now, right?" The project looked down.

"Right." They replied, undoing the plastic tie in the back and slipping it over their arms.

"Here, i'll throw it away for you-" The bird said, moving to take it back before the project suddenly retracted their arms, pulling the blue paper gown close.

"May I... Keep this?" They asked, not making eye contact.

"Uh... Sure." Romdo affirmed, puzzled. "I'm gonna have to get you someplace to put your stuff... I'll just add that to the list I guess. Anyways, do you wanna do something while we wait for food?" They pondered for a bit, glancing at the mirror again.

"Can you teach me about Shadow the Hedgehog?" They asked. The bird looked startled for a moment, then seemed to calm down.

"Yeah sure, I can see how you'd be curious about that... Here, I'll pull some stuff up and stream it to the TV." He grabbed a remote from off of a side table and proceded to do just that, and the two of them got lost in the internet, reading articles and beginning a short documentary on the hero. They had just gotten to a part detailing his role the recent planetwide Eggman Invasion in which some red wolf assisted Sonic the Hedgehog, another hero, when the doorbell buzzed. Romeo stood, pausing the video and clapping his hands together. "Aw yeah, food! Bee-arr-bee." He said, grabbing his wallet and jogging to the door.

The project shifted from their spot to try and peek around the doorframe, but their view was obstructed by several large takeout boxes. They settled for staring back at the TV, left paused on an image of Shadow pointing at something on an unseen computer monitor while he stood behind a pink hedgehog with whom he was likely relaying information to. His brow was heavily furrowed, but that was how he looked in every image or video they saw him in. They glanced back into the mirrors. Their brow was not furrowed. They tried it, but every time it was either too angry, or not angry enough. They couldn't understand. They were a perfect clone of him, yet one little detail changed the face they shared immensely. They frowned. That was more like the picture. But it still wasn't perfect. They heard the door shut, and turned to see Romeo walk past them into the kitchen, where he carefully set down the towering stack of takeout onto the bar counter.

"Come here, let's eat!" The bird chirped, grabbing a pair of forks and seating himself on one of the tall chairs, patting the one next to him. They stood, moving to do as he suggested, awkwardly hoisting himself up to the bar and accepting the fork offered to them. "Go ahead and just pick from whatever you think you'd like." He said, grabbing a container of white sauce and dumping it unceremoniously over a fettucine. They swallowed nervously, grabbing the first box they saw and lifting the clear plastic lid. Steam from a red sauce rose gently as they gripped their fork tighter, before quickly stabbing a tofuball before they could chicken out. They blew gently on it, shoving it into their mouth and chewing.

It was the couch all over again. This time, for their MOUTH. This was so much better than their nutrition gruel. Nutrition gruel had the exact amount of nutrients they needed, nothing else, no flavor, no pleasant aroma, and it had the texture of mashed watery cardboard. This, this ball of soy paste made to resemble meat? They could chew it. It tasted good. It tasted amazing actually! The sweet tomato sauce had a very strong spice to it, and they couldn't stop themselves from eating the rest, delighted mumbles falling from their mouth as they ate.

"Careful, don't choke!" Romeo laughed, holding up a hand in a 'slow your roll, mole' manner. "The food isn't going anywhere! Never would've taken you for a spicy guy though. Thought you'd like the cime de rapa or the raddichio."

"What are they?" They asked him, barely containing their excitement. Romeo pointed to the two boxes he was referring to, before stopping them from grabbing for the food with a click of his tongue.

"We can save those for lunch and dinner tomorrow, it isn't healthy to overeat. I dunno how i'd handle taking care of a sick hedgehog, I can't even take care of myself when i'm sick!" The bird good-naturedly laughed, already moving to clean up the practically-licked-clean plasticware. "You want anything to drink? Those tofuballs usually have me running to the tap."

"Just water, please." They turned in the barstool to watch Romeo traverse his kitchen with a practiced familiar confidence, opening the bottom cupboard to use it as a stepping stool to grab two plastic glasses from an overhead cabinet, depositing one on the sill of his expensive refridgerators filtered water dispenser while opening the door and grabbing himself a canned drink at the same time. He hit the appropriate buttons to begin the water flow before cracking the can and pouring the contents into his own glass, finishing in sync with the refridgerator.

"Here you go." He said, handing the hedgehog their glass, bringing his kitchen performance to an end. The project decided to keep these thoughts to themself.

"Thank you." They voiced, carefully taking and lifting the drink to their lips. Even the water here was better. If they were told that they had died in a lab accident and this was heaven, they'd believe it. They carefully pinched the inside of their arm. Nope, still alive. The thought made their heart beat a little faster. They were alive, they were out of the lab, they were doing something other than their routine. They were going to do things like shop for clothes, food, they were going to be places other than the rooms they were allowed in at the lab! They were excited. They were nervous. There was a tight feeling in their chest that they had never felt before. They quashed it with another gulp of water. Romeo spoke up after he finished moving all the leftovers into his refridgerator.

"So after we finish that documentary, how about I teach you how the shower works? It probably won't be too different than what they had you use at the lab, but it's kind of fancy I guess? Might be different enough. Oh! Since you don't have any soaps we'll have to get you some tomorrow. I think the stuff I use for my feathers will work on your quills since they're both keratin, but we'll have to get you some fur conditioner." He rambled, pointing to the white tuft on the project's chest. They smoothed it with their hand subconciously.

"That sounds nice." They said, standing as the bird motioned for them to come back to the living room. The two of them watched the documentary in silence, only broken when the project had questions, questions that Romeo would answer without skipping a beat.

An hour and a half later they found themself stepping out of the shower, towelling off in a super soft terrycloth bath towel. So much nicer than the industrial sanitation showers and dryers. They wiped the steam off of the mirror above the sink to stare at themself.

Exactly the same quills as the hedgehog in the news atricles. Same eyes, same body sans the muscle mass gained from fighting robots and aliens and who-knows-what-else. They looked exactly like him. Except Shadow, in every picture and video, looked hurt. Not the same vacant stare that the project had. His eyes told stories, they thought. Their eyes didn't have any stories to tell. They frowned, turning away from the slowly defogging mirror. They opened the drawer under the sink, 'the right side is all yours' they recalled Romeo saying. Sure enough inside was a travel-sized tube of toothpaste and that red toothbrush. They held it against the back of their arm. Romeo was right, it was the same shade of red. They giggled to themself at the bird's antics. Romeo's done so much for them already, they thought as they brushed their fangs. They would have to do something nice in return as soon as they could. They spat and rinsed, washing off the toothbrush and drying it before placing everything back in his drawer the way he found it. They replaced their socks but didn't bother with the gloves, finding the moisture to make them even tighter. They left the towel over their shoulders and left the bathroom, shuddering at the change in temperature as they looked for anyplace where they could leave the towel.

"Yes sir, he's settling in fine..." They hear Romeo speaking to someone from inside his room, behind the closed door. On the phone? "No, he still hasn't shown any signs of being able to-" the bird was cut off, likely by whoever he was talking to. It sounded like he was talking to one of the G.U.N. officials that knew about the project. "Of course sir. I will report everything as it happens. Good night, sir."

The project walked back to the living room. They hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but it sounded like the G.U.N. was still monitoring them. They frowned, sinking back into the couch. Even after they claimed to have wanted nothing to do with them, they still wanted to make them subservient. They stared at their feet until Romeo walked in.

"Oh, I didn't hear the shower turn off. How're you feeling, dude?" The project nodded.

"Good. Thank you." 

"Great! It's still kind of early, anything else you want to do?" He asked, sitting next to them on the other end of the couch.

"No, not particularly..." They pulled the towel closer to their shoulders. Romeo sat in silence for a moment. He pulled his phone out of his glove to fiddle with, before snapping his fingers.

"Do you know how to use your phone? I could teach you!" He chirped. The project shook their head.

"I was never allowed one." They admitted.

"Great! Well, not the never having a phone thing but, well you know." The bird shuffled through the pile of things on the coffee table before finding the piece of technology. He held a button for a few seconds, before being greeted with a low battery symbol. "Right. No juice. Should have figured. I'll go see if I have an extra block and cable around here." He said, standing and placing the offending cellphone back onto the table. He walked into the kitchen, checking drawers as he went. "Here we go!" He shouted as he pulled a rectangular wall port and a USB cable out of somewhere behind the bar counter. "My bad, totally should have thought of that earlier. Let's get you plugged in!" He crowed confidently, walking back over. He looked around for a wall outlet before finding one behind the cubby, quickly shuffling back for the project's phone before setting everything up. "C'mere for a sec, this won't take too long to charge!" Romeo motioned to them. They stood, letting the towel hold to them like a capelet. "Oh, I can take that to the laundry closet for you, if you want?" He reached out. The project simply nodded, and placed the towel in his outstretched hand. As the bird walked back to the end of the hallway, they watched the stylized animation of a battery being refilled on the phone's thin screen. They knew what a phone was, of course. They weren't told what they would ever need one for, though, and they were never given one.

Certainly, if they filled their original purpose, they would need some form of communicator? It didn't make much sense to them. Their creation didn't make much sense to them. They were a copy of someone who, from the looks of their recorded adventures, wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Why would they need a clone for backup if they weren't going to let them be backup? Their thoughts were interrupted by Romeo returning and powering on the phone.

"Alright, six percent! In any other situation this amount of battery would be bad." He sheepishly joked. He lifted himself onto the wooden cubby to sit with his back against the wall, patting the spot next to him and looking to the project expectantly. They sat down gently, before relaxing more. This was a sturdy cubbyhole, if it could support the weight of two mobians. Even if one was a very small avian and the other without much muscle mass. Romeo scootched closer and held the phone in front of them, using his finger to point out what he was talking about. They continued like that for a while, until the battery percentage was at eighty seven percent and the digital clock read a quarter past nine. Romeo yawned, standing. They followed after him, the phone left to charge in peace. "I think that's enough for today. It's still kinda early, but we have lots to do tomorrow, so... You okay with going to bed early?"

"I used to be told to sleep earlier than this." The project admitted.

"Whoops, didn't mean to keep you up past your bedtime!" Sorry." Romeo apologised, rubbing the backs of his arms.

"No!" They said, a little too loudly. They flinched and cleared their throat. "I mean... This was nice. Please don't apologise." Romeo relaxed, letting their arms fall.

"Yeah, okay. Goodnight, then." He said, turning and waving with a soft smile.

"Romeo?" They called after him.

"Yeah?" He called back, turning and tilting his head.

"Thank you for everything." They said shyly. Romeo smiled again, wider this time.

"No problem, Penumbra. Sleep tight." He said, clicking the lights off as he went.

Penumbra. That was their name. It made sense to them, for the most part. They were a project. A project to be a perfect clone of Shadow the Hedgehog. A project named Penumbra. They wandered back to the couch, lying down and pulling the patterned blanket over themself.

A project named Penumbra.


End file.
